Daughter Of President Putin's Close Friend Dies In Car Bomb Explosion, Ukraine Denies Involvement

JAKARTA - Ukraine has insisted it was not involved in the car bombing outside Moscow that killed the daughter of a Russian ultra-nationalist ideologue close to President Vladimir Putin.

Darya Dugina, daughter of prominent ideologue Alexander Dugin, died Saturday night after an explosive allegedly detonated the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving, investigators said.

Russia's state news agency TASS quoted Andrei Krasnov, a person who knew Dugina, as saying the vehicle belonged to his father and it was possible he was the intended target.

Alexander and Darya attended a festival outside Moscow, with the father deciding to swap cars at the last minute, reports Russian state newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

TV footage accompanying the statement by Moscow region investigators showed officers collecting debris and debris from where the explosion occurred.

The statement, which identified Darya Dugina as a journalist and political expert, said investigators had opened a murder case and would carry out a forensic examination.

Investigators are considering "all versions" to find out who was responsible, he said. The head of the Russian Investigative Committee ordered the agency's central branch to take over the investigation.

"An explosive device was placed under the car on the driver's side," the committee said in a statement. "Darya Dugina, who was behind the wheel, died at the scene. Investigations believe the crime was premeditated and contractual in nature. , said the committee.

Separately, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said if the traces of the investigation lead to Ukraine, it would lead to Kyiv's policy of "state terrorism".

The Ukrainians also firmly denied involvement in the car bomb explosion.

"I affirm that Ukraine, of course, has nothing to do with this because we are not a criminal state, like the Russian Federation, and moreover we are not a terrorist state," said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, speaking on Ukrainian television.

He appears to have blamed an internal power struggle between "various political factions" within Russia for the killing, judging the incident as "karma" for supporters of Russia's actions in Ukraine, such as Dugina and her father.

It is known that Alexander Dugin, Darya's father, had long advocated the unification of the Russian-speaking and other regions, within the vast new Russian Empire. He wants the empire to include Ukraine, where Russian troops are currently conducting what Moscow calls a special military operation to demilitarize.

The influence of Dugin, who is on the US sanctions list, over Russian President Vladimir Putin has been the subject of speculation, with some Russian observers suggesting his influence is significant and others calling it minimal.

Meanwhile, Darya Dugina, who also goes by the surname Platonova and is reported by Russian state media as 30, has widely supported her father's ideas and appeared on state TV in her own right, offering support for Russia's actions in Ukraine.

In a statement in March, the US Treasury said Dugina had been placed on a US sanctions list.